Gandhi look-alike tours country spreading message of peace

A 76-year-old Mahatma Gandhi look-alike, who has been touring the country since 1999 to spread Gandhian philosophy among the people, came to the Union territory of Puducherry on a six-day visit.

| TNN | Dec 4, 2013, 06.38 AM IST

PUDUCHERRY: A 76-year-old Mahatma Gandhi look-alike, who has been touring the country since 1999 to spread Gandhian philosophy among the people, came to the Union territory of Puducherry on a six-day visit.

Sporting rounded spectacles like those Gandhi wore, A Shanmugam, who renamed himself Erode Shanmuga Gandhi, always wears a dhoti and a shawl while his trademark Gandhi-clock hangs around his hips. He visited Auroville, a few schools here and Gandhi Thidal on the Beach Road where one of the tall statues of the Father of the Nation in the country stands.

His resemblances with Gandhiji surprised passersby, including tourists. He doesn't have hair on his head and his moustache was gray just like that of Gandhi. A few onlookers took photographs and he obliged to their requests standing in front of the Gandhi statue. Those who did not have cameras used their cellphones to take his picture.

Shanmugam was born as the youngest son of S Angamuthu and Vellammal in a remote village in Salem district in 1937. He could not recollect his date and month of his birth.

Shanmuga, while studying in Class 3, participated in a three-and-half-km padayatra lead by Mahatma Gandhi in 1945 against the British rule. It was the first and last time that he saw the Father of the Nation, but the single encounter was enough to instill in him Gandhian philosophy. The family moved to and settled in Sathyamangalam in Erode district when he was 12 years old.

He started practising Gandhian philosophy while following his father's footsteps and establishing himself as a trader selling textile garments and books. Later, he joined a private college to manage a hostel, where he worked for 12 years.

In 1999, after marrying off his two daughters, Ambigapathi and Bhuvaneswati, he started imitating Gandhiji. His wife Shakuntala decided to stay with their elder daughter after Shanmuga preferred to devote full time to meet people, particularly youth, to enlighten them about Gandhian philosophy. He started visiting schools and colleges in and around Sathyamangalam and later covered a majority of institutions in the district.

"My appearance and dressing style imitating Mahatma Gandhi attract people. Wherever I go, people come and talk to me, inquire what propelled me to imitate Gandhi and take photographs. I take the opportunity to request them to adhere to Gandhian principles for individual growth and nation's growth," Shanmuga said.

Shanmuga appeals to people to practise non-violence, to establish peace and safeguard truth at any cost besides practising meditation and fasting. A staunch vegetarian, he advises people to shun meat and lead a disciplined life. He gets up at 5am everyday and meditates for 10 minutes. He concludes his meditation with a slogan 'Annal Mahatma Gandhi Je, Jai Hind.'

He prefers to bath in a pond or lake or any water body wherever he stays. His breakfast is a small bowl of rice at 11am, and a dosa or a roti at 10pm makes his dinner. He stopped taking lunch in 1999 and is hale and healthy. He walks roughly 20km everyday and has maintained 37kg of body weight for the last 15 years.

Shanmugam has visited all major cities and towns in the state. He has also visited New Delhi meeting noted personalities, including former president A P J Abul Kalam and a host of Congress leaders. However, he was critical of the present-day politicians, including Congress leaders. He pointed out that while Gandhi wanted dissolving the Congress after attaining Independence, other Congress leaders were against the idea fearing that they would lose their prominence in the society.

"People from the creamy layer of the society, intellectuals and patriots joined politics those days and contributed for the progress of the nation without any personal motive or agenda. We know what kind of people join politics these days," he said.

Unlike Gandhi, Shanmuga depends on modern technologies. He carries a mobile phone to ensure that he remains in touch with the people.

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